TMNT: A Galaxy Far Far Away
by I'mjustkillingtime
Summary: AU TURTLES IN SPACE! The earth is gone, and the turtles and their allies now travel the stars with a stranger. Little to they know that they are part of something so much bigger, and their greatest adventure awaits in place so far from home. What lies ahead of our half shelled heroes in this gripping sci-fi epic? Only the Force truly knows.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Leo couldn't stop looking out the port hole in the ship's rest area. For all intents and purposes, he should've been ecstatic. Just like his hero, Captain Ryan of the show Space Heroes, he was traveling among the stars in an alien vessel. It should have been the most exciting adventure he had ever been a part of, and truthfully it was, but he couldn't bring himself to be happy.

The earth, his home for all sixteen years of his life, was gone, destroyed by a savage alien race and he their black hole weapon. Everything was just gone. The lair, his favorite pizza parlor, china town, New York: everything that he had loved about the earth was just gone. But that wasn't even the worst part. It could all have been prevented if it hadn't been for their mortal enemy: the Shredder.

Once known as Aroku Saki, he had formerly been a friend and rival of Leo's father, Hamato Yoshi aka Splinter, he had grown to hate his former brother over the love of a woman. What followed was a decades long feud that had been seemingly been put to a truce when the earth was at stake. But that had been a ruse. Shredder's hatred blinded him to everything else, and on that night he had finally enacted his revenge by striking Splinter down mere moments before he could stop the Triceratons' horrible Heart of Darkness weapon. It was Shredder's fault, and Leo hoped that he truly got what he deserved in the end.

In an attempt to ward off his depression, Leo shifted his attention to those that had joined him in survival.

First and foremost was his three brothers. Donatello, the brains of the team with the purple headband, was busily tinkering with something he had found. It was fitting, really. Whenever Donnie was faced with something he just couldn't comprehend, he would fall back to something smaller to take his mind off of it. It wouldn't last, Leo knew, but at least he was keeping busy. Then, there was Raphael, and it appeared the red clad turtle was repeatedly bashing his fists against a wall. While incredibly temperamental, it was unquestionable that he was one of the most caring, kind hearted people Leo knew. As hard as things were for himself, he knew Raphe was having a harder time. He hadn't been strong enough, he was probably thinking. He hadn't trained hard enough, pushed himself far enough, and now everything was gone. Leo wished he could comfort him, but he knew it was pointless. Better just to leave him alone and let him cope. Finally, there was Michelangelo. Oh, how Leo's heart ached to see his youngest brother so mournful. Mikey has always been a source of ecstatic energy and youth, and he was always the first to goof off and make the most of life. But now, he was barely even moving, lying face first on the floor having cried himself to sleep. That had been one of the most excruciating things Leo had ever been forced to watch, and he was certain that there would more moments just like it in the near future.

The turtles were not the only survivors, fortunately. Their two humans friends, and perhaps the only non-lethal, non-mutants that had known of the brothers' existence, were seated on a couch and asleep. First and foremost was April O'Neil. She had been their first human friend, and she had also been their introduction to the world beyond the sewers. It helped that she too was a mutant possessing psychic abilities thanks to an altered ancestory. She and the turtles were practically cousins, and like family they had stuck by her in the hardest of times. Whether it was saving her father from aliens, undoing a horrible mutation her father had undergone, or going to an alternate dimension so as to save her from aliens that had horribly mutated him. Suffice to say, April had had it rough. Next to her was Casey Jones, age 15. Overall, Casey was a loudmouth punk with a heart of gold. When things had started getting freaky in his city, he had donned the guise of a vigilante to fight back. Fortunately, he had met the turtles, whom gave him a few pointers and helped him to become the hero he had always wanted to be. Fat pot of good that seemed to be now.

Just then, the door to the rest area slid open, and in stepped the group's unexpected host. He was a solid white robot not much taller than April naked Dr Zatim Honeycutt. Apparently, he had been human at one point, but a lab accident had destroyed all but his brain, and thus he had built a body to house him. Leo studied the robot with a small grain of suspicion. Sure, he was thankful for salvation of the death of his world, but just where had this guy come from? Or, perhaps the more pressing question was how convenient it had been for him to show up and save them at the last possible second. It was time to get down to business.

"Alright you!" Leo began with a small growl. "I want answers! Just who the heck are you and where are you taking us?"

"Now, now." the robot said with cheerful, and strangely British, tone. "I promise you that I mean no harm, and I will answer any and all questions in time. But first, I would to check everyone over and ensure that your injuries aren't too severe. That was quite the war zone I pulled you from."

"We're fine!" thundered Raphael as he protectively took to his brother's side. "And we'll be taking those answers NOW!"

Dr Honeycutt's LED eyes flashed with a tired look, and he groaned internally.

"Oh, very well. Please awaken your friends. They should all be part of the coming conversation."

Leo and Raphe nodded, and they got to work rouse the rest of their lot. Raphe moves over to Donnie, and he placed a hand on his shoulder. Donnie looked up from his project, sighed, and then got to his feet. Leo was kneeling next to Mikey, and he gently shook his younger brother. He woke with a start, and he looked to Leo as fresh tears rose from the bottom of his lower lids. Leo did his best to hold a straight face, and he helped his brother to his feet and helped him over towards the doctor. Last was the human teens, whom Donnie elected to wake himself.

"April," he whispered as he shook them entry, "Casey? You need to wake up."

April was the first to rouse, and she blinked at Donnie for a moment. At last, her features sagged with despair.

"I was hoping…" she croaked with a sob. "I was hoping that had all been a bad dream."

"You and me both, Red." Casey said with a sigh. "You and me both."

They all joined the rest standing in front of the doctor, and they all waited for him to speak. As for the doctor himself, he seemed strangely nervous. He began to pace in front of them with his hands behind his back, and he wracked his brain for the right words.

"I know you must all have a thousand questions." He began. "I shall answer them all to the best of my ability. To start off with, yes, your planet is gone, and you are the only survivors."

It was a knife twisting in each of their hearts. While not new information, to merely have it confirmed by a second party only made it harder to bear.

"As for how I managed to save you at the last possible moment," Honeycutt went on, " it is because, to a degree, I knew it was going to happen."

Despair quickly turned to shock, and in Raphael's case blind rage. He lunged for the doctor, an it took the combined strength of his three brothers to hold him back.

"You knew?!" he bellowed with wrath. "Then why the heck didn't you warn the planet about it? Why didn't you save everyone else?!"

"If you will calm down, I'll elaborate." The doctor replied. As Raphael settle, the doctor cleared his throat and continued. "As I was about to say, the reason I knew is because it was I that invented the black hole generator used against your planet. However, prior to that event, I had designed for a much more peaceful purpose. During my previous life, I was tasked by the Triceraton Republic to build a new power source for their primary mothership. It's old power cells were starting to burn out, and they had no real homeworld to go back to. I had been experimenting with black hole manipulation as a sort of hobby, and I figured the energy harnessed by such an anomaly would a perfect long term solution to their problem. However, no sooner had I given to them did I learn what their true ambitions were. I tried to stop them right them right then and there, but well…."

His voice trailed off, and he looked down at his hands. The teens assembled exchanged pitied glances amongst one another, and Raphael himself felt sorry about his outburst. After a moment of reflection, the doctor cleared his throat and continued.

"It took me a while to, shall we say, put myself back together. By then,, I had learned of the Triceratons' invasion of your planet, so I rushed over to help. Unfortunately, by then there was little I could do. So, I rounded up you lot as quickly as I could, and then I flew is to safety. I'm terribly sorry for your loss, in far more way than I am capable to express, but I promise that I'll take of all of you to the best of my ability. You will all be my honored guests."

The teens once again exchanged glances, unsure how to respond. In the end, Leonardo stepped forward, and he bowed respectfully to the robot.

"You honor us, sir. We thank you for saving our lives, and we'll try not to be too much of a bother."

Dr Honeycutt smiled, and he likewise bowed to Leonardo.

"There is no need for formalities my friend. I just hope that you will all be comfortable aboard my humble vessel."

They then straightened, and the doctor clasped his hands together.

"Now then, with that messy business done away with like a worn out bandage, maybe now I could be honored with your names, please."

The teens each took turns identifying themselves, and the doctor smiled as best as his robot form would allow.

"Splendid. Now that that is done, would you all kindly join me on the bridge? We shall be setting out soon, and it is a sight You shan't want to miss."

He started out the door, and Leo and his friends swiftly followed suite. The bridge of the ship was shaped in a large half circle with three separate stations: one in the middle and one on each side. At the front of the room was a massive screen that showed the space before them, and the teens ooed and awed at the spectacular sight. Before was an endless spiral of stars and nebula with the occasional planet and swarm of asteroids dotting the space way. Dr Honeycutt chuckled to himself as they approached the glass for a better look.

"I wish I could be where you all are, right now." He said wistfully. "I've been traveling in this old tub for so long now that the concept of seeing such wonders has become quite monotonous."

"How could you grow tired of such a wondrous sight?" April gushed with utter amazement. "It absolutely amazing! Sure, I've seen pictures, but they don't do the real thing justice."

"Look at all those stars." Donatello said with awe. "I think that one is a red giant! Oh, and that over there! That's a blue dwarf!"

"This is so metal!" Casey exclaimed as righteous tears streamed down his cheeks.

""It really is incredible." Leo agreed. "It's so beautiful. Don't you think so, Miley?"

He awaited a reply, but one never came. He looked down to his brother to see that he was just looking at the floor with his head pressed against the glass and looking absolutely somber.

"I miss Splinter." The younger teen finally said, and Leo once again could feel his heart breaking. He wrapped an arm around his younger brother'a shoulder, and he pulled him into a tight hug.

"We all do, bro." he whispered in his ear. "Trust me. We all do."

As for Raphael, he seemed to be the least interested in the view. He had his back pressed against the glass, and he was watching the doctor like a hawk as he entered the middle station and a cone formed around his body.

"You said we're going somewhere." He said aloud so that the others could hear. "Care to explain just where, exactly?"

"A galaxy far far away." Honeycutt chirped with cheer. "I've always wanted to say that. But seriously, we are about to travel several qua-trillion light years away from your home galaxy to a planet called Coruscant. The Triceratons no doubt saw my ship, and they'll probably come after us if we tarry for too long. Fortunately, I have a friend at our destination who can put us up until things quiet down. In the meantime, maybe we could come up with a more permanent solution to your lost planet problem, or perhaps a complete reversal."

Leo perked up at that, and he stared at the robot with a hopeful look.

"Wait a minute! Are you saying that there might be a way that…"

He trailed off when the doctor flashed him a wink and smiled.

"Rule 1 about the cosmos, Leonardo: literally anything can happen. It's just a matter of finding the proper catalyst. Now then, everyone buckle up for what promises to be the most exciting adventure of your lives!"

The six teens dashed for the remaining two stations just as the doctor engaged the hyperdrive. They watched with ever mounting excitement as the stars around them became long streaks of light, and soon they were rocketing through the cosmos and the universe beyond, all eagerly awaiting the exciting journey ahead with hopeful hearts.

….

Meanwhile, on a steamy swamp planet in the middle of nowhere, a lone figure sat on a log in a deep trance. The near twenty years of exile had done little to dull his powerful mind, and he focus remained clear and true.

Suddenly, he felt a tickle at the back of his mind. A new presence had just entered the galaxy, and its resonance had found him even hear on this backwater planet. In spite of himself, the figure smiled, and he allowed his mind a moment to bask in the heavenly light the presence radiated.

"A welcome feeling, this new presence is." The figure mused quietly to himself. "Learning more about it, I look forward to."

The figure chuckled to himself, and he continued to reach out and looking for a means to open contact with this strange, but welcome presence.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When the ship finally came out of hyperspace, the turtles and teens bore witness to the marvelous sight of a brand-new planet. It was perhaps the size of their dearly departed earth, a fact that Donatello was quick to point out as he gauged both the radius and diameter, and the planet's surface was lit up like Time Square at New Years. The teens bolted from their seats and rushed to the front of the ship for a better look, and Dr. Honeycutt soon followed.

"Remarkable, isn't it?" he said as he looked out. "That, my friends, is Coruscant, the capital planet of this entire galaxy. It is also one of the most technologically advanced planets in twenty solar systems. It's quite the marvel."

"Wait, so we're really going down there?" Donatello asked with excitement bubbling up in his throat.

The doctor beamed at him, and he nodded his head.

"Yes, in deedy, my terrapin friend. You shall be the first of your kind to bear witness a whole new planet and the many cultures associated with it."

His smile then fell, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Which reminds me. Will everyone please take a seat. I must share something very important with you."

The six teens returned to their seats, and they all looked up expectantly to the doctor, whom began to pace nervously before them.

"Now I'm sure you're all excited." he began evenly. "Even I can recall the wonders of traveling to an all new planet and bearing witness to the culture, people, and interesting food. However, what you must understand is that this planet has some…er, well, rules."

"Such as?" Raphael pressed. He had a bad feeling where this was all going.

The doctor paused for a moment.

"Currently," he continued, "this entire galaxy is in the process of a galactic civil war between the Galactic Empire and an ever-growing rebellion. Coruscant, you see, is the capital of the Empire, and thus it is a very strict planet. Fortunately, the majority of the military, which also acts as law enforcement, keeps to the uppercity, and, much to our exceeding fortune, my friend lives in the lower level slums."

"Figures." Donnatello muttered glumly. "We're going to the most advanced planet in the universe, and still we're stuck living in a sewer."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Don." Leo quoted sagely. "It may not be ideal, but we need to keep out of sight and out of trouble. It's not like we have anywhere else to go."

"Quite right." the doctor added. "Also, and this is the important part so listen, under no circumstances are any of you to wander about the planet unsupervised. While I have the feeling you four turtles aren't quite new to the horrid concept, the denizens of this planet are quite prejudice towards any non-human lifeforms. Emporer Palpatine, the ruler of this planet, has even been rumored to have them killed on sight whenever he flaunts about the city."

"Stay out of sight. Got it." Raphe said with a grunt.

The doctor then turned to April and Casey.

"The same goes for you. Another rumor I had heard from some smugglers was that Imperial Stormtroopers were in the habit of kidnapping any children separated from their parents and having them shipped off to the nearest Military Academy for indoctrination."

April stiffened at that.

"And they just get away with it?" she asked incredulously.

Dr. Honeycutt nodded.

"Sadly, it is so. First rule about the Empire: they can do very well what they want. No consequences, no repercussions."

Casey took in this new information with obvious discontent, and he spat on the floor in an act of defiance.

"That's totally jank, man! Somebody should do something about it."

"Don't get any ideas, young man." the doctor said quickly in warning. "Few ever stand up to the Empire and live long enough to boast about it. Fortunately, as I said prior, there are those that are fighting against the Empire's tyrannical ways, and they've made several strong blows, too. They've definitely come farther than any other that has challenged Emperor Palpatine's supremacy."

The doctor couldn't see it, but a devious little twinkle had come into Casey's eye. The gears in his head had begun to turn, and he began to think on things that perhaps should have been left alone.

Once he had said his piece, the doctor returned to his pilot's chair, and the ship began its descent into Coruscant's atmosphere. They had barely gone a few knots forward, however, when there was suddenly the sound of a roaring engine, followed by two small, black, tie shaped space ships went whizzing past the ship. A red warning light lit up the cockpit, and the six teens suddenly became tense and alert.

"Settle down, everyone." the doctor said coaxingly. "They're just our escort to the docking bay. Just keep your noses down and let me do the talking. We'll be fine."

For some reason, none of them felt too assured.

The two TIE fighters, as the doctor had explained they were called, guided the ship down past the atmosphere, and the group received their first look at the glory that was the planet Coruscant.

Towering buildings that stretched beyond the clouds, great highways that extended to the horizon and beyond, flying vehicles of several different shapes and designs, and finally the people. Even for six born and bread New Yorkers, there had never been more people all scrunched together like sardines as they went about their regular business.

Donnatello was all but salivating at the nearby technology, and his fingers even jittered at the thought of taking it all apart and making something new.

April, for her part, was amazed by the architecture. It seemed reminiscent to the Art Deco style from back on earth with pyramid shapes, and, even when she craned her neck, she couldn't see the top spires of the skyscrapers.

Mikey's attention was purely on the local shops and restaurants. However, both his despair and disappointment seemed to increase when he could spot neither a pizza parlor or a comic book shop.

Raphael regarded the strange sights with his usual disinterest, and he spent his time making small talk with Casey.

Leo, on the other hand, was completely lost in his own world. He knew that he shouldn't be dwelling on the earth still, but it just wouldn't leave him alone. The truth was, even if the planet could be brought back like the doctor hinted at, there was still one crucial piece that he and his brothers would never get back: Splinter. Leo placed a hand over his chest as he recalled the chilling scene of the Shredder's claws perforating through his sensei's back. It was a nightmarish scene he could never forget, and it left a void in Leonardo's heart. As the leader of his little band, the responsibility of guiding his friends and family into the uncertain future fell onto his shoulders. Splinter had tried his hardest to teach Leonardo to be self-sufficient and less dependent on his father, but Leo could never let go. He wanted Splinter to be there, to watch his students grow and, maybe someday, enjoy the sounds of grandchildren running around the lair.

Now, that day would never come. His sensei was gone, and Leonardo felt completely lost.

"Master." he whispered quietly so as not to disturb his friends. "How can I go on without you?"

 _Uncertain, your future truly is. Worry too much however, you do._

Leonardo's eyes went wide, and he suddenly straightened up, smashing the back of his head against the headrest. The others shot him with looks of concern.

"Hey, you alright, bro?" Raphael asked.

"Who said that?!" Leonardo demanded as he rose from his chair and swept his gaze around the cockpit. However, the only thing he saw was the confused looks of his fellow travelers, and Dr. Honeycutt even got up from his pilot seat and walked over to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, mirroring Raphael.

Leo studied him for a moment, and then it occurred to him that nobody else had heard it. Could it have just been in his head? He rubbed his eyes, and he took a deep breath.

"I…I must just be tired. I can't even remember the last time I've gotten any sleep."

The doctor offered him a sympathetic look, and he patted the turtle on the shoulder.

"Losing a planet can do that to you. Not to worry, though. We'll be landing in a moment, and then it's a long, but quick elevator ride to my friend's place. You'll be able to rest and recuperate, as well as get something to eat. Oh! There's the port now!"

Sure enough, the TIE fighters were guiding the ship into a round building with an open roof. They entered first, and the ship followed closely behind. Once the doctor's ship was safely nestled in its new home, he cut the engines and motioned for his fellow travelers to follow. As they made their way down the loading ramp, they were met by two white armored Stormtroopers armed with rifles.

"Remember the rules." the doctor whispered to his companions. "I do all the talking. One false move, and they could arrest us for little more than nothing."

With that, he made his way over the two soldiers, and he offered them a friendly way.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. I suppose you fine fellows are needing the credentials for this fine ship, the Elysian, yes?"

The two troopers exchanged glances, and then they looked towards Casey and April.

"Where is the captain of this ship?" one of them demanded, and he raised his rifle just enough to emphasize his authority.

"Excuse me!" the doctor interjected while waving a hand. "I am the captain. Right here!"

"Will someone remove this droid?!" the second trooper demanded.

The doctor reeled back, and then he placed a hand over his face.

"Oh, brother, I keep forgetting. Gentlemen, I am not a droid. I am a cyborg."

He took a step back, and then sections of his head began to retract as a human brain levitated into view. The two troopers jumped back with shock, one of them even aiming his rifle at him, but his comrade called him.

"Our apologies…sir." he said stiffly as he holstered his rifle. "So then, this is your ship?"

The doctor nodded, and he raised his hand. A holographic image appeared over his palm, and upon it was all the detailed aspects relating to his ship. The first trooper bent down and studied it carefully, and then he nodded.

"Looks in order, sir. May I inquire about your passengers?"

"But of course." the doctor replied with his usual cheer while gesturing to his friends. "The two humans are my niece and nephew- darling little things, aren't they? -and the four behind them are my Selkath servants."

The second trooper regarded the four turtles with a skeptical look.

"They don't look like any Selkath I've ever seen."

"Mutant strain." the doctor said quickly. "Got them cheap, too. Would you like the number of the slaver I got them from?"

"Slaver?" Raphael hissed under his breath, but Leonardo silenced him from further outbursts.

"That won't be necessary." the trooper said as he and his comrade straightened. "What level will you and your family be visiting today?"

"Level 5,027." the doctor replied. "I'm visiting my cousin."

"Affirmative." the first trooper said. "You're all clear then, Mr…who?"

"Doctor, actually." Honeycutt said. "And it's Smith, sir. John Smith."

The Stormtrooper produced a datapad, and he scribbled down upon it.

"Alright, then. Have a nice day, sir, and welcome to Coruscant. Please keep your holo-vid set to frequency 23. Emperor Palpatine will be making a formal address to the public later on this evening."

"Wouldn't miss it." the doctor said simply.

He then quickly herded his host away, and they made their way towards a nearby elevator. Once they were securely inside and going down, Raphael whirled on the doctor.

"Dude, what the shell?!"

"Easy there, Raphael." Dr. Honeycutt said as he raised his hands defensively. "I apologize for the confusion, but it was the only way I was getting the four of you to come with me without being sorted by customs."

"Still though," April said quietly, "it's incredible how willing they accepted your answer. I mean, is slavery just that widely accepted around here?"

"You're not in the United States anymore, my dear." the doctor said sadly. "It's much worse in the worlds within the outer rim of the galaxy, but it is still a widely accepted trend amongst the human denizens of the empire. Especially when it comes to the labor force."

The remainder of the ride was left in silence. All of a sudden, this planet no longer seemed so mystical and mysterious, and instead it felt like a nightmare. April shot a glance at her four, green-skinned friends, and she tried her best to envision what was going through their heads. Being out in the open had always been a hurdle for them, but now their freedom was literally on the line. Who knew what would happen to them if just the wrong person laid eyes on them.

As though he sensed her fear, Dr. Honeycutt rested a hand on her shoulder and offered her an L.E.D smile.

"There, there, April. It's all going to be ok. Where we're going is perfectly safe, I assure you. What's good about the level we're going to is that it's just barely beneath above the seedier parts of the undercity, but just low enough that the empire doesn't care about what goes on there."

That piqued April's interest.

"How so?"

The doctor winked.

"You'll see."

As if on cue, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened to reveal an incredible sight. Before them, for as far as the eye could see, there were crowds and crowds of aliens. Genuine, honest to sci-fi, aliens. Everywhere they looked, they discovered a whole new species, breed, genus, and several other variations in between. The doctor took a moment to admire their awe, and he chuckled good naturedly.

"There, you see? What'd I tell ya? Here in the undercity, it doesn't matter what planet ya came from. Come as you are, that's the rule. Now, come along. If I remember correctly, my friend's place shouldn't be too far from here."

He took April and Casey by the hand, and he started forward into the crowd with the turtles following closely behind. As they went, the turtles were assaulted with an unfamiliar phenomenon. They were out in the open, in plain sight, and everyone could see them plainly. However, rather than taking one look at them, screaming, and running away, most folks that saw them either ignored them, or offered friendly waves. Donnie had even taken note of a few female aliens, or at least he hoped they were female, were shooting him bashful looks and smiles. To these people, they were just another face in the crowd. It was a welcome feeling, in spite of all the hardship that had come prior. Casey and April, however, were having an adverse effect on the crowd. What few faces they did attract were mired down with heavy sneers, and it was obvious that, given a chance, they would either made crude remarks at their expense, or, more radically, attack them. Given the oppression going on above, April could understand their feelings, but it did little to settle her nerves. She just hoped that Casey's explosive ego wouldn't trigger anything while they were down here.

At last, they came to a stop at a large house on the square. It was at least five stories tall, and its appearance vaguely resembled brick. The doctor moved briskly over to the front door, and he quickly knocked against the door three times. A moment later, the door opened, and a young woman with white hair and blue eyes stepped into view. She regarded each and every one of them carefully, and then she stopped on the doctor.

"Can I help you?"

The doctor chuckled kindly, and he folded a hand across his chest.

"Still got that Idiot's Array up your sleeves, my dear Amanda?"

The woman's eyes went wide, and she smiled before wrapping her arms around the cyborg's neck.

"Doctor! It's so good to see you again!"

The doctor chuckled warmly, and he hugged her tightly.

"Right back at you, my dear, and, might I say, I think you've grown an inch or two since last I've been here."

As they parted, the young lady gave the tiny cyborg a more thorough look.

"And you, doctor, are more, how shall I say, metallic. Is this the result of another one of your experiments?"

The doctor blanched, or at least he would have, and he gave a nervous chuckle.

"Yes, well, you could say that. It's a long story, but it'll have to wait. Perchance, is Don K'ishi in?"

"Why not ask me yourself, old friend?"

The woman, Amanda, stood aside, and outstepped an orange skinned alien outfitted with a pair of goggles and a breathing mask. Though dressed plainly, the figure seemed to hold himself with great poise and dignity, almost giving off an air of royalty as he approached his new guests.

"Though your form has changed," the figure boomed with a deep, throaty voice, "it is always a blessing when you come for a visit, Zatim. The children will certainly be ecstatic. In the meantime, would you be so kind as to introduce your fellow travelers."

The doctor nodded, and he gestured to the teens.

"These are April O'neil, Casey Jones, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Kids, these two are Amanda Whitedawn of Alderaan and Don K'ishi from the planet Kel Dor. They run an orphanage down here in the undercity. A wayward home for the lost and unfortunate."

He looked back to Don K'ishi.

"Which brings me to our current predicament. Don, I hate to impose on you and Amanda, but my friends here have nowhere else to go and we need a place to lay low for a while. So, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, perhaps we could…"

The Kel Dor alien silenced him with a raise of his hand.

"Not one more word on the subject, my friend. You know better than anyone that my home is a shelter. Why don't you all come in and make yourselves comfortable. What is mine, is yours."

He and Amanda walked into the house, and the doctor and his host quickly followed. All save for Leonardo, whom wore an uncertain face. He couldn't put his finger on what, but something felt off. It felt like the prickling sensation of a limb falling asleep, only it was coming from the back of his mind. It was almost like something was trying to tell him something. Like something was reaching out.

"Hey, Leo!" Raphael called out. "Come on, man. You're letting out the A.C."

Leonardo jolted upright, and he jerked his head back to the wayward house. He suddenly felt very ironic. For years, he had wondered what it would be like to live out in the open, and sleep in a real apartment as opposed to a sewer. Well, now he was doing just that, and all it had taken was for his entire world to be literally destroyed.

"Welcome to the apocalypse, Leonardo." he muttered grimly to himself.

He made his way up the stairs, and he started through the door. However, just as he was closing the door, he was almost he could hear someone chuckling lightly on the breeze.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

April casually tapped the end of her pencil against the side of her face as she stared down at the writing pad the doctor had given her. It had been his suggestion that she work on a journal as a way to focus her thoughts and get her mind on other things. Given the circumstances, she wasn't sure how much it would help, but any relief would be welcome. With that, she began to write.

"Dear, journal," she vocalized as she scribbled. "It's been three whole days since we arrived on Coruscant, and we're still settling in. Fortunately, the hosts of this house as well as the efforts of Doctor Honeycutt have made the whole transition more bearable. It still doesn't feel real; The earth being gone. I try not to think about it, to put my mind on other things, but it just seems like my mind always falls back into those last few moments before the planet was engulfed by that horrible, swirling, black vortex. Just like that, millions of years of culture gone, and me and Casey are the only surviving humans. What's worse is that once my mind starts to reflect on that day, I'm once again reminded of all the things I loved that I may never see again New York, Murakami's restaurant, the boardwalk on Coney Island, Master Splinter and my dad…"

April had to stop as a tightness formed in her chest, and she squeezed her eyes shut as a fresh wall of tears formed behind her eyelids. She waited a moment for it to pass, took a deep breath, and then she got back to writing.

"But I really shouldn't be dwelling on that. I miss them all, but I have to keep my head up and move forward, if not for me then for the others. It isn't like I'm the only one going through things, after all."

She paused again at the sound of a crash, followed by what sounded like Donnie shouting at Raphe.

"Donnie has been busying himself with any kind of technology he can get his hands on. Fortunately, Don K'ishi found him an old robot called a protocol droid to play with. I think he's taken it apart and put it back together nearly a thousand times. Of course, that's partly because Raphael, whom has been going absolutely stir crazy over these last few days, kept stealing the incomplete droid and used it for a sparring dummy. It's almost a breath of fresh air all things considered."

She then heard Leo's authoritative voice calm the two down, and she smiled.

"Leonardo is perhaps the closest to normal out of all of us." she continued to write. "Most often than not, he's the one that pulls us out of a rut and keeps us going. However, that's not to say he doesn't have some…quirks as of late. He's been somewhat jumpy, kind of like back on the ship when we first arrived. He's assured us that it's just his nerves, and he's been meditating non-stop, but I'm just not sure. I don't really know how to explain it, but I've been getting the weirdest of vibes from him lately. It's like…well, it's like there's a second series of thoughts swimming around his head. I tried reaching out with my own thoughts, but nothing ever seemed to show up. Oh, well. Maybe it's just my own nerves."

She rested her hand a bit. She really did miss her laptop. Writing by hand could be such a pain.

"Then…there's Michelangelo. The truth is, he's really starting to scare me. He hasn't said a single word since we got here. We've all taken turns trying to get him to open up again, but he won't say anything. He mostly just goes off to be by himself in the room they gave him. Strangely enough, Don K'ishi himself goes up there to time to time. They never talk. He just sits up there with him. I don't know if it's doing anything, but right now I'll take any miracle we can get.

Just then, she could hear the front door slam, followed by the murmured grumbling of Amanda Whitedawn and squeals of pain from Casey.

"As for Casey Jones," she wrote, this time with a bit of vice, "I'm about ready to tear my own hair out because of him. He's made fast friends with a couple of the older alien kids in this house, but I can't say that is such a good thing. They're delinquents, and that's putting it nicely, and I don't appreciate the influence they've got over him. They all disappear at different parts of the day, and sometimes at night, to do I don't think I even want to know what. Fortunately, Amanda is quick to swoop in when they get home and yank them by the ear or whatever extremity constitutes for one. She's one shrewd caregiver, and hopefully she'll be the force to keep Casey on the straight and narrow for a change."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"If only. Oh, well, I guess that's all for now. I don't know how many more of these I'm gonna write, but it feels good to unload. Things are getting better, or at least as good as they're gonna get, and maybe next time I'll have something happier to write about. Until then, this is April O'neil. Signing off."

…..

As April made her way down the stairs into the den of the house, she wasn't surprised to see Amanda Whitedawn still talking down Casey and his two accomplices. The first was a green skinned alien with large black eyes and hair-like tentacles extending from the back of his head like dreadlocks, and the second resembled a humanoid goldfish that April halfway expected to be a mutant. The three were looking properly humbled, and none of them looked at the woman directly.

"…this is your third strike this week, ya know." April heard her say. "If I have to get onto your rascals one more time, I'll have to turn you over to Don, and you know that he is far less merciful than I."

The two alien teens visibly shuddered, but Casey addressed the threat with his usual cocky air. It made April want to punch him. Amanda then dismissed them and charged them with cleaning the breakfast dishes. When they had vanished into the kitchen, Amanda finally noticed April.

"Oh, good morning." she said good naturedly. "Sleep well?"

April nodded. "Yeah, I slept alright. Thank you again for letting me have my own room. Not that I would have minded sharing. I did, after all, share a sewer with the turtles for a while."

Amanda shook her head. "Think nothing of it. We weren't using that room for much of anything, and the twins can be a bit rowdy when the words _bed_ and _time_ are compounded together."

She was referring the only other girls in the building besides herself and April; a pair of human twins that were no older than four. According to Amanda, they had lived in a house a few blocks down from the wayward house that had been set on fire during one of the few Imperial raids the undercity saw. Don K'ishi himself had gone into the blaze and came out with the two infants, but sadly the parents were already long gone. Therefore, it was no surprise that he took it upon himself to personally raise them and look after them. Therefore, it also fell to him when they developed rather mischievous personalities, and they were the ones that screamed the loudest when it was time to lay them down.

"Still the same, thanks. Where's the turtles?"

Amanda hummed thoughtfully. "Donatello should still be in the basement working on that droid, if memory serves, and, shortly after I had caught those boys, I sent Raphael to take care of some errands. Leonardo is currently meditating in his room, and Don is sitting with Michelangelo in his room. The poor dear still hasn't said so much as a peep."

April sighed, and her shoulders sagged. "What I wouldn't give to hear him shout Booyahkasha again. He's the youngest of the turtles, ya know. All the turtles took Splinter's death hard, but Mikey's the only one without any real coping mechanism. Especially since this planet seems devoid of comic books, cartoons, and, most importantly, pizza."

"Yes, your friends told me of the dish." Amanda mused. "I've done my best to replicate it going from their descriptions, but I seem to be missing either a key ingredient or a step in its making."

"Don't worry too much about it." April assured her. "It's the thought that counts, after all. What about the doctor? Where's he?"

"I'm right here." came the good doctor's cheery tone, and he came walking up the stairs from the basement. "Good morning, April my dear. Ready for another lesson?"

April nodded, and she and the doctor excused themselves and made their way into the basement. Over the course of their stay, Dr. Honeycutt had been helping April with the development of her psychic abilities. While he was no Master Splinter, the doctor's understanding of kraang physiology made him an excellent replacement as a teacher, and April was thankful for his time and patience.

The basement was perhaps the most crowded place in the entire house, which was a feat in and of itself. Its dimensions were barely over six hundred square feet, and a decent space was taken up by Donatello and his robot project.

As they made their way down the steps, April called out to him and offered a wave. Donnie stopped what he was doing, raised a hand in greeting, and then went straight back to work without so much as turning about. April couldn't help but frown. It seemed that every time she walked into a room back at the lair, Donnie was always the first to greet her. To be ultimately ignored by him left a hollow feeling in her stomach. She put the thought on hold as the doctor directed her to a small blanket with three tiny balls sitting on the hem. The doctor instructed her to sit, and she obeyed.

"Now then," the doctor began while clearing his nonexistent throat, "for today's lesson, I'm going to have you focus on three objects. These three orbs, to be exact. Inside one orb is a treat, and the other two have a nifty little trick. Your job is to reach out with your mind's eye and identify the treat. When you feel you've found it, just point at one of the orbs in front of you."

April nodded, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. So far, she had become quite familiar with the mental waves of living creatures. As of late, the doctor had been helping her to identify electrical fields, and that was the goal of the game. As she reached out with her senses, she could identify a massive of electricity in front of her: no doubt the three balls just beyond her knees. Now came the hard part. She knew that two were the same wavelength and one was different, but she always had trouble telling one from another. In her mind's eye, it just looked like a swarm of color, and the problem was that the surrounding fields tended to draw her focus. She tried her best to concentrate, and she studied the three balls very carefully. After much deliberation, she pointed to the one on her right.

"That one." she said.

The doctor reached down, picked up the ball, and he pressed down on a red button on its surface. Rather than produce a treat, however, it instead began to blare a shrill sound. It was enough to startle Donatello, whom fell face forward into a pile of spare parts. April opened her eyes, and she bit her lip as the turtle tried to swim out of an ocean of sprockets.

"Let me guess," she said glumly. "Incorrect?"

The doctor nodded, and then he mixed up the balls.

"Try it again, April. Hardly anyone gets it on the first go."

April nodded, and she tried again. Like before, she found the buzzer ball, and she proceeded to do so every time the doctor changed up the order. After a while, April finally gave up and got to her feet.

"Why are we doing this particular training anyway?" she asked. "I can already pick up brainwaves. Why would I want to detect nearby toasters?"

"Now take it easy." the doctor said coaxingly. "I understand that you're frustrated. It just takes practice. As for use, you won't always have a brain to latch onto when it comes to detecting people. As I'm sure you know, living beings move about and perform complex maneuvers because of electrical signals sent from the brain. If you can learn to discern one set of electrical signals from another, you'll find you have a better range of detection, and that would be an invaluable resource for a growing kunoichi like yourself."

April couldn't help but feel doubtful of that, but surely the doctor knew what he was talking about. Nevertheless, she was starting to feel tired, and the constant use of her powers were giving her a headache. She opened her mouth to ask for a break, but she immediately shut it at the sound of a crash. Both she and the doctor dashed for the stairs and made their way into the main part of the house. The crash had come from the kitchen, where it appeared Casey and his two alien friends had made the best of their punishment by tossing dishes among one another. However, after dropping the first one, a fun game had turned into an all-out war, and there were broken dishes now littering every nook and cranny of the kitchen floor. April could feel her headache growing even worse, and smoke was starting to billow from the doctor's head. When Casey finally spotted them, he dropped the saucer plate he had been holding. He offered her a gap-toothed grin, and he shyly waved at her.

"H-hey there, red? How's the training going?"

April didn't honor that question with a response, and she looked as though she were about to pop. She opened her mouth with the intent of speaking her mind, but she froze at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Don K'ishi, whom had just gotten through with putting the twins down for their afternoon nap, had walked down the stairs to inspect the sound, and what he found did not please him. Not in the least. He shifted his gaze from one face to another, and then he observed the massive mess that littered the kitchen floor. He finally came to a stop at Casey, and he fixed the greasy teen with a hard look.

"Alright," he rumbled in his throat, "who would like to be the first to explain to me just what exactly happened here? Keep in mind that the longer I have to wait for an answer, the worse your situation becomes."

The trio looked among themselves, and Casey took a step forward.

"It's my fault, sir." he offered meekly. "I was tossing a plate over to Kifi," he pointed to the green alien, "and I guess I tossed it too hard. It broke against his back, and it kinda dissolved from there."

Don hummed grimly, and he began to rub his chin thoughtfully. He spent the next five minutes in heavy debate until he finally came to a conclusion.

"Casey," he began, "since you are still fairly new in this household, I am willing to let you off easy. You are now confined to the house for the next two weeks, and you will be helping Amanda with her usual duties. Now please go to your room and be expecting a much longer lecture on house rules, later."

Casey nodded, and he slinked his way past Don K'ishi and made his way up the stairs. When he was gone, Don turned his full attention towards the two alien teens.

"Kifi, Lyre, I'm terribly disappointed in you. You are some of the eldest children in this house, and I depend on you to act as an example for not only the young ones, but also any and all new arrivals. You know better than this."

"We're sorry, sir." the duo chimed in unison while hanging their heads low.

Don K'ishi moved past them, minding the numerous shards on the floor, towards a nearby closet, where he retrieved a broom and dustpan.

"The first part of your punishment will be to clean up this mess. Afterwards, I want both of you to report to the bazaar to look for work. You will both be in charge of replacing each and ever dish, glass, and silverware that was damaged as a result of your horseplay. Is that clear?"

The two boys nodded, and they accepted the cleaning equipment and immediately got to work. As Don made his way back into the den, he was suddenly set upon April, whose face was as red as a beacon.

"I am so, so sorry about this." she said with ragged breath. "Casey isn't usually this destructive, and I'm sure he didn't mean…"

Don cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"It's quite alright, April. Dishes can be replaced, and nobody was hurt. It was just a trio of boys that got in way overhead. I know Kifi and Lyre quite well; they won't let it happen again."

April sighed.

"Still the same, I don't understand what Casey was thinking. Sure, he can be a bit thickheaded at times, but he's always been respectful of other people's property."

"I suspect that stress has something to do with it." Don stated thoughtfully. "It doesn't have to be said that losing one's home planet can be a nerve wracking experience. Everyone has their own way of dealing with stress, and sometimes it can lead to messes such as this. I'll have a little talk with him, and that should be the end of it."

"Actually, sir," April said, "if it's alright with you. I would like to speak with him first. I feel he'll have an easier time talking to me, and there are actually a few things I need to ask him."

Don K'ishi studied the girl curiously, and then he shrugged.

"I don't see why not. Is there anything I should be concerned about?"

April shook her head.

"No, I've just needed to talk to him is all."

She excused herself, and then started up the stairs after Casey. As she made her way through the hall of the upper level, she could already hear the sound of heavy metal coming from the boy's room. She let herself in without knocking, and she found Casey lying on a cot with his T-phone in his hand and his feet resting vertically against a wall. As she approached him, he cut off his music, and he rolled around to a sitting position, and he raised his hands defensively.

"Now, April, I know that you're mad, and you have every right to be."

"You ain't just whistling dixie, Jones." April said icily. "However, that's not why I'm here. I'm more interested in what it was that you did this morning. You know, the thing that made Amanda drag you back by your ear?"

Casey felt small beads of sweat forming at his brow, and he tugged nervously at his collar.

"I only heard the tail end of Amanda's lecture," April went on, "so I had to start thinking over just what you were doing out there in town. Going from past experience, there was only one thing that came to mind that fit your personality."

She then narrowed her gaze, and then she put her hands on her hips.

"You were messing with one of the imperial patrols, weren't you?"

Casey's answer was a small fit of nervous chuckling and a shrug, and April placed a hand over her face.

"Oh, Casey!"

"What's the big deal?" Casey shot back. "Those bucket heads were roughing up an alien couple, and nobody was doing anything. I was just doing what I usually do. No worries."

"No, Casey, there's plenty of worries!" April snapped. "This isn't like fighting the purple dragons in the streets of China Town. Stormtroopers are literally soldiers, as in for the government. If you go against them, you'll be arrested, or worse if anything the doctor said is to be believed. Is that really want you want?"

Casey folded his arms across his face, and he scoffed.

"Yeah, right. Like any of those plastic-coated beatniks could take me on my worst day. They've got nothing on the kraang or Shredder's mutants."

April rolled her eyes to the ceiling, and she breathed an exasperated sigh.

"And it's that kind of arrogance that's gotten you into trouble too many times in the past couple of years." She shifted her gaze back to Casey, and she bored into him with a hard stare. "Look, Casey, this has to stop. We can't afford to be reckless, not after everything we've been through. I want you to drop the whole vigilante schtick, starting now."

Casey reeled back in horror.

"You want me to…But I can't! April, come on, it's part of my identity. It's who I am."

"I mean it, Casey." April said sternly. "This is just too much of a risk. Now, promise me that you'll drop it, or, so help me, I'll tie you down to that bed myself."

"B-but Red!"

"Promise or don't promise?"

Casey's entire body seemed to sag as he gaped at April in astonishment. He tried to form words, but nothing intelligible made it past his lips. At last, he lowed his gaze, and he offered her the tiniest of nods. Satisfied, April started for the door. As she made her way through the threshold, she stopped and looked back.

"I'm holding you to that promise, Casey." she said. "I don't know if I could stand it if I lost someone else."

She didn't wait around for a reply, and she shut the door behind her. She remained in the hallway for a long wall, slowly fanning herself. That hadn't been easy, and she hoped Casey wouldn't be sore about it later, but it had to be done. There was just too much going on right now, and they couldn't risk being careless. She had resolved herself to go back downstairs, but she stopped at the familiar sense that something was amiss. Summoning her power, she focused on the disturbance, and she realized that it was coming from the attic. At this time, Leonardo would be up there meditating. She tossed concerned towards the stairwell leading to the attic, and she wondered if he was alright.

…

Leonardo sat quietly upon the floor of the attic, his legs crossed and his eyes squeezed shut. He was trying hard to concentrate and find inner piece, but, like always, he was still thinking about to…that moment. His father's shocked face, the Shredder's demented sneer, and the empty feeling that formed in Leo's stomach: he just couldn't get it out of his head. He knew he had to move on, or, at the very least, put it to the back of his mind. His family was depending on him from now on, and he had to find the strength to shoulder the burden. Splinter had always told him that there was a greater power that he would turn to for strength in times of great need. Right now, Leo knew that's what he needed. It was out there, he knew it; he could feel it! He squeezed his eyes so tightly shut that they felt like they would split apart, and he reached out his senses just as his father had taught him.

"Please," he whispered desperately into the void, "someone, anyone, show me the way. Show me how I can get stronger."

Suddenly, Leo felt as though someone had grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him backwards. His mind still reeling as he tried to comprehend what was happening, he was now floating in mid-air, staring down at his own body that was still sitting on the floor. The next thing he knew, he was pulled even further away, out of the attic, then the house, then the under city, and even the very planet itself. Leo was being dragged by invisible chains and was soaring through endless stars and space. He soon spied a strange green planet that loomed before him, and before he knew it he had cleared the planet's atmosphere and made a hard landing onto the planet's surface. There, he lay face down on something soft and mushy. Finally mustering his strength, he pushed himself up and took stock of his surroundings. He was now kneeling in the middle of a massive swamp, but it was unlike anything he had ever seen. The trees stretched so high into the sky, that he couldn't even see the upper canopy through the mist. There was also a massive lake at his back that seemed to be more mist that water. What's more, perhaps the most stunning fact about this planet was just how alive it felt. Leo could hear countless lifeforms skittering about through the upper tree branches, but that wasn't all. Even the very ground beneath him felt alive, as though a current of energy were racing through the mud, into the trees, and even rising from the rocks.

"What is this place?" Leo mused aloud.

"My home, this is? Lovely, is it not?"

Leo's eyes went wide, and he whirled about to see a tiny green creature dressed in robes sitting on a tree stump. He smiled at Leo.

"Hello."

Leonardo suddenly screamed and stumbled backwards. The next thing he knew, he tripped and fell into the lake behind him. There was indeed water, and it was ice cold. His cold blooded body instinctively began to stiffen as Leo tried to hold his breathe, but it escaped his lips in a drowned cry as he saw a massive, serpentine creature racing towards him with it's large jaws open wide and aimed at him.

….

"Leo? Leo! LEONARDO, WAKE UP!"

There was a sudden knock at the back of his head, and Leo felt himself being propelled forward before crashing into solid ground. His eyes opened with a snap, and he bolted to his feet and drew his katanna in one swift motion.

"Leo, calm down! You're safe!"

Leonardo looked towards the source of the voice, and then he saw…April?

He blinked a few times, his breathing still ragged, and he cut his eyes from side to side. He was…he was back. Back in the safety of the wayward house's attic. There was April standing just a few feet away, and she looked absolutely terrified. Leo immediately put his katannas away, and he placed a hand to his forehead as he tried to clear his thoughts. That's when he felt the water. He quickly looked himself over, and sure enough he was completely soaked. He looked about the room, but there was no sign of any kind of liquid.

April gave him a moment to collect himself, and then she slowly made her way forward and met him eye to eye.

"Leo," she said quietly, "are you ok?"

He stared at her for a long hard moment, and then he offered her a nod.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, I think I'm alright. Did you need something?"

April shook her head.

"I was getting a weird vibe coming from in here, so I came to check on you. One minute, you seemed fine. Then the next, I couldn't sense any brain activity from you whatsoever. I've been screaming at you for the last five minutes. To top it all off you're soaked, and, quite frankly, you smell awful."

She crinkled her nose and waved a hand over her face.

"Good grief, Leo, did a sewer line bust over your head or something? What happened?"

He had absolutely no idea. A part of Leo was screaming that what happened was physically impossible, but a quick reminder of his time in the woods at the old farm house put that rest. But this didn't feel like that time. It was something different: bigger, more powerful. As for the wetness and smell, he could only assume that it came from that swamp, but he had only gone there mentally, right? He found that he only had more questions and little to know answers, and the best he could offer the red head was a shake of his own.

"It's nothing April. I'm fine, really."

April didn't look convinced. There was a massive swarm of strange vibes buzzing around Leo's head, but April couldn't even begin to understand what they meant. However, given how shook up the turtle look, she decided not to press him further.

"You should probably get cleaned up." she advised. "Amanda should be starting lunch after the kitchen gets swept up-don't ask about that, by the way-and I don't think anyone would want to get a whiff of you right now."

Leo just offered her a nod, and she excused herself. When Leonardo was alone again, he sat down on the floor, and he pondered his experience. Whatever that had been, it clearly had something to do with the greater power Splinter had been telling him about. All of the sudden, Leo was starting to feel very small, like he was a single tadpole in an ocean. He felt scared, but he didn't know why. One thing was for sure, though. That tiny figure on the stump had been the voice he had heard before. Leo didn't know how, but that creature had his answers and somehow, some way, he was going to find him and figure it all out. He swore it on his oath to his father.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Casey lay awake in his bed; his only form of entertainment being counting the tiles on the ceiling. Don K'ishi had called lights out nearly two hours ago, but Casey wasn't sleepy. In fact, he was wide awake and his muscles were aching for action. He hated that he had made that promise to April; it was just so unfair. He couldn't stand sitting still when he knew there was so much wrong going on. It reminded him of the time he had broken his leg before finals, and he had to sit on the sidelines while his hockey team bombed the biggest game of their lives. These imperial scrubs were bad people, and the idea of sitting out on giving them their muchly deserved butt kicking was almost too much for him to bear.

Just then, he was pulled from his inner self-pity when there was a knock at his door. Knowing Don K'ishi's strict policies concerning after hours, Casey bolted upright and grabbed his hockey stick. A moment later, the door opened, and Kifi and Lyre walked into the room. Now Casey was really confused. After that little kerfuffle that afternoon, breaking yet another of Don K'ishi's strict rules was definitely on a long list of things they shouldn't be doing. However, when Casey looked at them more closely, he noticed that they were looked upset. Worried, even. That wasn't a good sign.

"Hey, guys. What's up?"

Lyre nudged Kifi, and the green skinned alien stepped forward.

"We need your help." He said, his tone low but tense. "You know how Don sent us out to get jobs to fix the kitchen?"

Casey nodded.

"Well, we were walking through the bazaar, and that's when we saw it. A group of imperials had arrested Mr. Sitwick."

Casey hunched a brow.

"And...he is?"

"A well-known rebel sympathizer." Lyre said, joining the conversation. "He often sets up a soapbox to profess the stories of how the rebel alliance is making headway against the empire. He's harmless, and the last hundred times the imperials have come down here they just ignored him. But today, they not only gave him the time of day but they also arrested him. No charges, no explanation as to why: they just straight up beat him to a bloody pulp and then hauled him off. Casey, he's got a wife, a son, and three grandkids. They've already been through enough."

Casey frowned. He genuinely felt bad for them, and it sounded like this poor fellow was in a tight fix. That was usually his bread and butter. However...

"Just what exactly do you want me to do?"

Kifi and Lyre exchanged glances.

"We were hoping you would do your vigilante thing." Kifi said. "You know, go in and, how did you put it, bash their skulls in and what not."

"They should still be here in the undercity." Lyre added. "There are certain protocols they have to go through before they can carry out a prisoner transfer. You have to help, Casey, please! We've seen it happen too many times. The empire takes a non-human up, they never bring them back down. They won't host a trial or nothing either. You're the only one we can turn to."

Casey took a deep breath, and he closed his eyes so as to focus his thoughts. An image of a very wrathful looking April appeared in his mind's eye. He knew she wouldn't want him to do it, especially after she had made him make that promise. Then again, something in his gut stirred. This was wrong on a number of levels. There's no reason that anyone should be getting away with something so brutal, and someone had to act. That made this hold thing a game of truth or consequences, and the truth was that Casey was going to face the consequences.

He got up from the bed, reached up underneath his bed, and pulled out his skull mask. He looked down at it for a long moment, and he sighed. Just one more time. One more, and then he would stop like April wanted him to. He slipped on the mask, and he turned to his friends.

"Show me the way."

Before long, the trio was out the door and disappearing into the dark streets. However, their actions did not go unnoticed.

...

Corporal Folgrain was having a bad day. Ever since he had been demoted over an incident with a star destroyer crashing into a spice mine and thus costing the empire a near infinite some of credits, he had been forced to wallow in the filth and squalor while trying ever so hard to climb his way back up the ladder of success. So it was his fault he had over clocked the hyperdrive just to demonstrate to Lord Vader how effective his ship was? It also didn't help that his entire ship had been manned by a bunch of cutthroats and liars whom ran his name through the mud. Either way, he was now the laughing stock of the entire empire, nearly twenty years of work down the drain.

However, his luck was at last turning around. Whether it was luck or perhaps even the Force, he had stumbled upon a known rebel frequency buried within imperial chatter. There was someone listening in on the empire's conversation, and at last he was certain he had found him. It was a yellow Rodian by the name of Maggotossis Litwick, and it was obvious he was a rebel sympathizer who would blatantly profess his blame on the streets of the undercity. His subordinates, whom had proven to be no better than his old crew, had already told him that he was jumping to conclusions, and one had even been bold enough to tell him that he was crazy. Fortunately, a blaster is an excellent way to resolve insubordination and instill dominance. Grand Moff Tarkin had taught him that.

He walked about to study the now beaten Roadian, dressed up in chains like all filthy aliens were meant to be. To the pitiful creature's credit, he was still wearing a bold face on his insectoid snout, and Folgrain admired it. In fact, to display his admiration, he delivered a sharp kick to the alien's side.

"Your days are now, rebel scum." He said while spitting in the poor creature's face. "However, I could be persuaded to make your end much more painless if you would so kindly inform me on your contact's identity."

"Imperial poodoo!" The Rodian spat in the dirt, earning him another kick.

"Fine. Be that way. I cannot wait to see just what the Emperor himself will do to you one I bring you before him."

He couldn't see it, but his three stormtroopers acting as his escort were rolling their eyes. They were just finishing up prisoner transport protocol when the street light above head suddenly went out. Folgrain squealed, and his troops once again rolled their eyes.

"It's alright, sir." A trooper assured the corporal. "The light just went out. Probably just a short in the power grid."

"I knew that!" Folgrain said quickly. "It just...startled me, is all. Who knows how many rebels could be sneaking around in the darkness, ready to pounce and tear us limb from limb."

"Oh, you got that right, sucka!"

Before Folgrain could even see what was going on, something long and wooden smashed him in the face, knocking him to the ground and relieving him of three of his teeth. The three troopers immediately brought up their blasters, but something moving quickly on wheels rammed into the first and knocked him into the next, resulting in a domino like reaction.

"Goongala!"

THWACK!

THWACK!

THWACK!

With that, it was now lights out for all three troopers. Just then, the light came back on, and both Kifi and Lyre came into view, the power box they had sabotaged still sparking. While Kifi rushed over to Mr. Litwick's side to cut him loose, Lyre walked over and studied Casey's work. He grinned.

"That was incredible, Casey! I didn't even know a human being can move that fast. Say, what are those things on your feet?"

Casey grinned, and he carefully lifted up one foot.

"We call them roller blades. They were pretty big back home, even though they're technically toys. I've always had to make do with what I had, and these puppies have gotten me through many scrapes."

He then turned his attention the Rodian as Kifi helped him to his feet.

"He alright?"

Kifi looked him over carefully.

"Well, they weren't exactly soft on him, but he can still move about."

Kifi then muttered something to the Rodian in a strange language, and he sent him on his way.

"I told him to grab his family and move to one of the lower levels." He explained. "The gangs get worse the further down you go, but the empire is never willing enough to send troops that far down. It ain't exactly the safest place to go on Coruscant, but at least the gangs aren't looking for him."

"Then that settles it." Casey said while dusting off his hands. "Let's head back before we get into trouble."

"Oh, you're beyond trouble now, Jones!"

Casey all but jumped out of his skin, his eyes huge and his body trembling. Very slowly, he turned about, and there she was. Arms crossed, eyes blazing, and one foot tapping: April O'neil was not happy. Not in the least. Standing behind her was Raphael, whom looked more tired than annoyed, though he was still plenty annoyed.

"Don't look at me, pal." He said. "You've dug your grave."

Casey looked back to April- yikes, she was angry! -and he did his best to look meek and innocent.

"Now, red, take it easy. This isn't what it looks like."

"Oh, really?" April asked rhetorically. "Because it looks to me like you blatantly broke your promise, snuck out of the house, and beat up a bunch of stormtroopers."

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess it's exactly what it looks like."

"Casey!"

"It's our fault, April!" Lyre quickly said in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "We egged him on. Besides, it was a good cause! They were going to kill that man!"

"You don't talk!" April snapped, causing Lyre to shrink back. She looked back to Casey. "I'm not mad about you doing good, Casey. I'm really not. In truth, it's not even you breaking your promise that makes me mad. It's the fact that you just don't get how much trouble you could get us all into trouble. This isn't like back in New York."

"You've already said that." Casey said firmly. "Frankly, red, I don't even see what the big deal is. I took these chumps down, and nothing bad happened. So what's the big deal?"

April's face had become as red as a tomato, and she could feel several vessels in her forehead just about to burst. She opened her mouth again with the intent of giving him another broadside, but she gasped when she saw the soldier in the grey uniform get to his knees and level his blaster for Casey's back.

"LOOK OUT!"

She shoved Casey out of the way, and now she was directly in the soldier's line of sight. He fired, and a bolt of blue energy whizzed through the air and struck April dead center. She fell to the ground with a thud, and from there she didn't move.

"April!" Raphael exclaimed, and he rushed over to her side. Casey remained where he was, his eyes locked on her prone form. April, in all her fury and outrage, had literally taken a bullet for him. He hadn't even bothered to check and see if the first guy had been knocked out. He had been careless. He watched with dim eyes as Raphael checked her over frantically, the large turtle looking for something, anything, that would tell him that she would be ok. Casey could barely hear Corporal Folgrain screaming into his communicator for backup, nor did he realize when Kifi and Lyre had grabbed him by the shoulders and started dragging him as Raphael carried April. He had been swept away by the consequences of his actions, and he was afraid that the cost was far higher than he had intended to pay.

...

It didn't take long for them to return to the wayward house. As Raphael burst through the door, he was surprised to see Don K'ishi sitting in a recliner and looking cross. However, when he saw April, he immediately got to his feet and cleared off the table in the center of the room.

"Lay her down! Let me have a look at her!"

Raphael complied, and he laid April down so that Don could look her over. After a few moments, he sighed with relief.

"She's just been stunned, thank the Force. She will be alright after a few hours."

He then sat up, and he shot the three remaining boys with a very hard look.

"This was the work of an imperial blaster. Who is responsible for this?"

There was no small amount of inhibition among the three. Lyre and Kifi were already head over heels in trouble, but Casey was hanging back with his head hanging low and his eyes locked on April's unconscious form.

"Someone had better explain things to me. Right now!"

Don K'ishi's ever sharpening tone had brought the boys out of their stupor, and Kifi was the one to step forward.

"It's our fault, sir! We had seen some imperials snatch up Mr. Litwick. We knew they would kill him, and he hadn't done anything wrong. Nobody else would do anything, and we couldn't take on stormtroopers, so we turned to Casey."

"That's how April got hurt." Lyre chimed in. "If we hadn't asked Casey, if we hadn't of egged him on..."

"Will you two just shut up!" Casey snapped, forcing the two silent as he at last stepped forward while meeting Don K'ishi's hard gaze with one of his own. "Yeah, these two asked for my help, but I don't do anything unless I want to do it. Nobody forced me to go out there. I'm more than willing to accept whatever consequences you can dish out. But I'll have you know that I whipped those imperial chumps and we got away scot free."

"DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A SCOT FREE GET AWAY TO YOU?!" Don K'ishi suddenly roared while pointing at the April's prone form.

Casey hadn't been prepared for his tone, and it had even scared him. Behind him, Casey could hear Kifi and Lyre trembling. They, too, had never seen the wayward home patriarch so incensed.

Just then, Amanda Whitedawn, Doctor Honeycutt, Leonardo, and Donnatello came charging down the stairs. The shout had roused them all from their sleep, and they had come to investigate.

"What's going on?" Amanda asked, concerned by the furious look on her friend's face.

Don K'ishi looked at her, and he could see the twins peaking from behind her legs. He tossed a glance to Kifi and Lyre, and then he stopped at the doctor. He took a long deep breath to calm his nerves. When he felt he was collected enough, he looked back to Amanda.

"The time has come. Gather as much as we can carry and make for the backstreets. We must abandon the household."

Amanda's face drew back in horror. She placed one hand to her heart, and the other on top of one of the twin's head. She took a deep breath, and then she herded the children back up the stairs. Casey stared at her as she left, and then he looked back to Don K'ishi.

"Hey, now, come on, dude! Don't you think you're being a bit over dramatic?"

Don K'ishi looked back to the boy, and he shook his head.

"You said you would, how you said, take any consequences that came your way, right? Well, this is the greatest of those consequences. Perhaps even as we speak, the imperial officer you assaulted is viewing the video records from that part of the street and will have no doubt seen your face."

Casey scowled.

"My face! Dude, he couldn't have seen my face! I'm wearing a..."

His hand went to his face, but instead of hard plastic he felt soft skin. Casey's eyes slowly grew wide, and then he remembered. It had been when April had shoved him. His mask had gone flying off, and there he had been for all the world to see. Don K'ishi noticed his sudden change in confidence, and he slowly nodded.

"That is right. They will no doubt find a quick match of both your and April's faces from the day you arrived, and their records will show that the good doctor over there has regularly visited this home. They will be down here before long, and they will not hesitate to arrest everyone here in this room. I'm not about to let that happen."

With that, he started for the stairs. Casey stayed rooted where he was, his shoulders sagging as the true weight of the situation had claimed him. He looked back to Kifi and Lyre but only to find that they had already left. He then looked to the turtles for support, but all he got was angry stares and looks of disgust. All of a sudden, he felt like he was the only person in the entire universe.

...

Corporal Folgrain tapped his foot angrily against the ground as he awaited the turbolift. He had just sent his findings to headquarters, and he was awaiting his backup. Apparently, they were sending his old lieutenant, whom was now a sergeant of all things, to co-op the mission. At last, the doors opened, and outstepped a woman with short cropped blonde hair. The bill of her hat had covered her eyes, but he was certain those distasteful green orbs were just sparkling at the idea of trying to order him around. Well, he wasn't going to take it. This was his op, and he was going to let her know it.

"You sure took your sweet time getting here!" He said snappishly as the sergeant stood before him. "I could have captured these rebels three times over in the time it took you to get here."

"Is that so?"

Oh, how he despised that sweet tone! She always did that to him. Acted all sweet and nice to butter him up and make him feel good. But, right when the fruit was ripe, she would chop everything and keep it all for herself.

"I find it funny that you assume that there are rebels here, on Coruscant of all places." She said went on. "Just how is it you came upon this information, Filmore?"

"That's Field Commander Folgrain to you!" The corporal raged. "What's more, I don't have to explain my sources, which I have had to fund with my own personal resources thanks to you. All you have to focus on is following my lead and not getting underfoot, Marceline."

It was then that the woman chuckled, and she wagged her finger at him.

"Oh, no, my dear former commander, I'm afraid you misunderstand. You are no longer in control of this operation. Lord Vader himself has given me full control."

Folgrain's eyes went wide with utter surprise. The Emperor's right-hand man? What did he have to do with this?

"He was quite interested in the prospect of rebels under our noses." The sergeant said, answering his unasked question. "Turns out, there has been an unidentifiable string of chatter going over comm frequencies. Sounds like we've got a spy hiding down here in this festering rat hole. With that, in mind, Lord Vader authorized for me to use this."

She gestured to her group of storm troopers, and they immediately parted. Standing in the back of the turbo lift was a figure clad in a black suit with white stripes going up and down the sides and arms. Their face was also obscured by a black helmet. However, what had truly caught Folgrain's attention was the lightsaber at the figure's waist. He looked to the sergeant, and he could see that she was grinning.

"Surprising, isn't it? It's a new prototype weapon that the Emperor has been developing. Given my capabilities as a leader, Lord Vader has seen it fit for me to give it a proper field test. I must say, I look forward to seeing how it works out."to give this little beauty their first test mission. We call it the Scout."

Folgrain felt utterly beside himself. Not only did her deception and trickery gain her a higher standing, but, apparently, she now had Vader himself eating out of her hand, too! The sergeant sauntered past him, giving a sign to her subordinates to follow.

"Watch and learn, Folgrain." she said with a haughty smirk. "Let me show you how a real leader commands her troops."

The corporal wore a deep frown, but he followed nonetheless. There would be justice one day. Some way, somehow, he was going to make this blond haired nerf herder pay for her insolence, and then it would be he prancing around with the experimental weapon and Lord Vader's favor in his back pocket.

...

The wayward house was, for the first time since they had all moved in, completely empty. Standing in the foyer, everyone was looking about and taking it in. It felt like a bad dream for Amanda in particular. It so hauntingly reminded her of the loss of her home world of Alderaan, and how her entire world had literally turned to dust. Don K'ishi and these kids meant everything to her, and to see them with such long faces.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to Don. He had his electrostaff holstered over his right shoulder, the very same staff he had used to save her from some thugs on the first day they had met. He had always sworn never to take it out from his hiding place in the closet in accordance to his distaste for violence. She pitied that he had to bring it with him.

She then looked to the children. Kifi and Lyre wore long faces, each boy holding one of the twins. The turtles, whom had just lost one home, were losing yet another. Then, of course, there was April and Casey. April, the poor dear, was still out cold and was slung over Casey's back. The greasy teen in particular was looking rather humble, and Amanda actually felt sorry for him. He had a good heart. If only that meant something, these days.

At last, they withdrew from the house and made their way into the dark alleyways. The plan was to use the turbolift on the opposite side of the undercity to make a break for the surface. It turned out that Don K'ishi actually had a friend there whom could set them up for a few days to let the heat die down. After all, what better place to hide from a predator than underneath its nose?

The large group quickly but silently made its way through the city streets. Don K'ishi was out front, and Leonardo took up the rear. It was still late in the evening with most of the town's residents asleep, and that left just enough cover for them. However, there was a nagging in the back of Leonardo's mind. He wasn't sure why, but he had the oddest feeling that they were being watched. True, they had the imperials at their back, but this was different than just the feeling of an imminent attack. No, he really did feel like something was closeby. Some dark. Something evil. Something...Something that was about to crash down on top of them!

"MOVE!" he cried out, lunging forward and shoving everyone out of the way.

A near instant later, something did indeed crash down onto the street. The small group banded together, and Don K'ishi was quick to spy the imperial badge on one side of the figure's black uniform.

"More will be coming! We must keep moving!"

Leo stared at the figure, her heart hammering at his chest like an anvil. There was something off putting about this...thing, and it was obvious that there was more to this mysterious figure than could be plainly seen. He then drew his katana, and he stood firm.

"Go, get out of here! I'll hold it and anything else that follows off for as long as I can, get to the turbolift!"

"I can't ask you to do that!" Don K'ishi barked.

"You're not asking, I'm telling! Just keep my brothers safe, and I'll be right behind you!"

Don K'ishi didn't like it, but he didn't have the time to argue. He ushered the the group forward, all save Raphael, whom was looking at Leonardo with uncertainty.

"Leo?"

"I'll be fine, Raphe!" Leo assured him. "Now go! Keep an eye the others. You're in charge."

Raphael really didn't like the sound of it, but he offered his brother a nod and then he followed after the others. Leonardo was now alone with the dark clad figure and the dark aura that surrounded them. Leonardo took a deep breath, concentrating and putting his entire focus on the upcoming battle.

"I can do this." He said to himself. "After all, it's just one guy. How tough could he be?"

POP

ZIZZ

Leonardo's neck snapped upward, and he could see that the figure was now holding what appeared to be a red energy sword. The figure swept the blade and slashed a nearby lamp post, knocking it over without effort. Leonardo stared at it, noting how the severed ends were still searing red. Leonardo took a deep breath, and he let it out slowly.

"Me and my big mouth."


End file.
